A Liper Story
by pipermclean116
Summary: This is basically just a story of how Leo Valdez and Piper McLean's love came to be. Or how I hope it will come to be...whatever. Erm rated T because it's very romantic and there will most likely be kissing. There will be a lot of chapters and I'll try to update very often. All characters are owned by Rick Riordan.
1. Chapter 1

Piper's POV:  
"Jason, I love you so much. Whatever happens just remember that." I know. It's sappy. I've been a little paranoid ever since Percy and Annabeth...well, you know. I just don't want to lose Jason.  
"I love you too, Piper. More than you can know. And everything will be fine. I know you're worried about Percy and Annabeth but they'll make it. Percy won't let Annabeth get hurt." I love him so much for that.  
"I know, Percy's brave and all that jazz but I just have a terrible feeling that one of us isn't going to make it." He didn't answer. "You have that feeling too, don't you?"  
"I...I do. Honestly. But what I said who're was true. Annabeth won't we hurt if Percy has anything to say about it."  
"But this is Tartarus! This is where all of the angry monsters seeking vengeance upon Percy and Annabeth are!"  
"Calm down, Piper."  
"This is serious! I just-" He cut me off with a hug. It was a long hug. One o those hugs that was better than a kiss. One of those hugs that made you feel like you were in "The Notebook".  
Suddenly, Leo burst through the door and said, "Yo Beauty Queen! Sparky! Break up the mushy. It's time for dinner." I laughed as I got up to go to dinner.  
"I'll be right there," Jason said.  
"Alright." I say as I exit the room with Leo.


	2. Chapter 2

Leo's POV

"So I take it you're still freaking out about Annabeth and Percy, right?" I said as Piper and I were walking to dinner.  
"How could you tell?" Piper said, laughing.  
"Ah, it's the Leo magic. Something not many people are given the privilege to witness."  
"Is that so?" Piper said, laughing so hard she was almost crying. That's what the Leo magic was. Making the best girls around here feel good.  
We walk into the dining room and see Frank, Hazel, and Nico at the table.  
"Hey guys." Says Frank, looking glum. Everyone was looking glum. Everyone is glum. But I've noticed that Nico especially is depressed. From what I've heard, Percy's like his older brother. He goes to the dude's house for Thanksgiving.  
"Hey Frank." Piper says. "Um, how are you, Nico?"  
He doesn't answer. He sort of looks like he's in some kind of weird trance-thingy.  
"Nico?" Said Hazel, concerned. She turns to us and says, in a hushed tone, "He hasn't talked since we were attacked the other day. Speaking of which, shouldn't that be happening?"  
"Actually, yeah. We haven't gotten attacked all day. " Says Piper curiously.  
"Maybe we're in a safe zone," I say with a shrug.  
"Yeah, because our luck is that great. "  
"Snappy are we Pipes?"  
"Shut up," she says as she up he's me in the arm. Just her making contact with me gets me jumpy. I don't know why I feel like this but it been growing for a while. Wow, I'm the jerk who likes his best friend's girlfriend who also happens to be his best friend. Jolly good.  
•


	3. Chapter 3

Piper's POV

"Leo!" I said, snapping my fingers in front of his face.  
"What? What? Oh, sorry. I zoned out for a minute."  
"Are you ok?"  
"Um, yeah. I'm fine. " He said. I didn't believe it. He's been acting pretty weird for the last couple days, like, weirder than normal.  
"Alright. Well let's sit down."  
Once we sat down, Jason entered the room.  
"Hey guys, ready to eat? Sorry for the holdup." Said Jason, sort of uneasily.  
"Are YOU ok?" I say, concerned. Why is everyone acting so weird?  
"Yeah, I'm totally fine."  
"Ok.." I say. "Well, dig in."  
Plates and platters full of food appeared before us, every food you can imagine. Pizza, macaroni and cheese, burritos, tacos, pasta, all kinds of things. Our cups automatically filled with the drinks we normally have, and we all began our meal.


	4. Chapter 4

Leo's POV

"Yum, burritos." said Piper.  
"Heck yeah," I said as we high-fived.  
Hazel was eating gumbo, as she had been the last couple days. She says it's comfort food. Frank was eating some kind of fish. I don't know, it looked gross to me. Jason had a giant bacon cheeseburger in his hands. One thing was for sure, I'm not sure who would win in an eating contest, Jason or Percy. Nico had some blue pizza on his plate, but he didn't eat it.  
"Hey Nico, what's up with the blue pizza?"  
"Percy likes blue food. His favorite food is pizza. Simple." He said, staring off into the distance. I tried to keep the conversation going, since this was the first time he'd talked for days.  
"So do you guys eat blue turkey on Thanksgiving?" I asked jokingly.  
"We tried once, but we ended up having to order pizza for the main course."  
"That bad, huh?"  
"Yup. That bad. Sally tried though. She does anything Percy needs. Everything I need. One time I was sick and she walked three blocks just to get me the good cough syrup. If being a mom was a paying profession, she'd be filthy rich." He said all this, and got a little smile on his face, but it vanished almost immediately.  
"Well I guess we'll just have to see what color the turkey is this Thanksgiving." I said reassuringly. I felt pretty genius for that remark. It may not seem like it sometimes, because I always forget, but Nico is only 14. I would say the same about Hazel but her situation is different. She remembers being in the underworld, and remembers her previous childhood and all that jazz.  
"Alright, I'm stuffed," I say, holding my stomach.  
"Me too," says Piper. "I had so much burrito."  
"Preach." Everyone starts to laugh after I say that. Even Nico, a little bit. I felt pretty accomplished.  
•


	5. Chapter 5

Piper's POV

As soon as Leo and I walked out of the dining room I hugged him. "You're so sweet. " I said as we embraced.  
"Woah woah, calm down Beauty Queen. All I did was a little talkin'." He said, all nonchalant.  
"Oh, come on," I said a I pulled away. "You made Nico smile. He looked genuinely happy for a couple minutes."  
"I am pretty great, aren't I?" I busted out laughing as he chuckled to himself. I calmed down as we entered his room. I wonder, should I bring it up? I should. It worries me.  
"Hey, Leo. Are you ok?" I said, very timidly.  
"Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?" He replied uneasily.  
"You've been acting a little weird lately. I'm just worried. " He smirked as I said that.  
"You don't have anything to worry about, Beauty Queen. Unless you want to help me fix Buford. His legs are a little uneven."  
"What? Leo Valdez never makes a mistake." I say, laughing again.  
"This Leo was young and naive. He didn't see what was right in front of him." He said, a little philosophically.  
"Alright then. I suppose I could try to lend a hand."  
"Good. You're going to need to hold Buford down. He doesn't like to stay still."  
"Um, he doesn't have a brain. How could he possibly have ADHD?"  
"Beats me. All I know is that that's the truth."  
"Well ok. If the great Repair Boy says so."  
"Shut up Pipes." He say, laughing.  
"No can do, sir." I say, almost crying of laughter as we start to work on Buford.  
•


	6. Chapter 6

Leo's POV

So we worked on Buford for an hour or so, just chatting about random stuff, when Piper brought it up again.  
"Are you sure you're ok?" She said with concern. "You've been acting so...I don't know, skittish, maybe? Jumpy? It's weird."  
"Pipes I'm fine. I'm not acting jumpy or skittish. I'm the same as always. Just plain Leo." I said. I think I covered that up pretty well.  
"Well, if there's something wrong just know that you can tell me anything, Leo." I started laughing at that. I shouldn't have, it was stupid, but I did.  
"What's so funny?" She said harshly.  
"That's just the thing. I can't tell you this."  
"So something is wrong! I knew it! Wait-why can't you tell me?"  
"Um, it's...uh. Personal."  
"Oh come on. Leo, you know all of my secrets. We tell each other everything. This can't be that bad."  
"Oh, but it is."  
"Is it Gaea?" She whispered this as if she was talking about Voldemort.  
"No, nothing like that."  
"Ok, is it girl problems?"  
"Leo doesn't have girl problems." I try to say all macho, yet I almost die laughing.  
"Leo I'm serious! Stop laughing. I want to help."  
"Ok, it's not me that needs help, it's one of my brothers from camp."  
"Oh. Ok. Well why didn't you just says so? What's the problem?"  
"Ok, so my brother has a best friend, two actually, and they're dating. But he's been madly in love with the girl for weeks, and he doesn't know what to do. Should he tell her or keep it a secret?"  
"Ok, well how madly in love with this girl is he?"  
"Very. Every time she walks in the room, his stomach flutters. Every time they touch, it feels like electricity is coursing through his veins. Every time they talk, he savors it, and goes over what he said in his head every night."  
"Wow. That's...very in love. He should tell her that. All of that. Exactly how you said it."  
"Yeah. He should. But what about his best friend who is dating her?"  
"Good question. Maybe Aphrodite could help out a little. I may be able to pull a few strings."  
"That would be perfection."  
"Did you just quote "Friends"?"  
"Well duh. That show is hilarious!" I exclaimed as we high-fived.  
•


	7. Chapter 7

Leo's POV

So we worked on Buford for an hour or so, just chatting about random stuff, when Piper brought it up again.  
"Are you sure you're ok?" She said with concern. "You've been acting so...I don't know, skittish, maybe? Jumpy? It's weird."  
"Pipes I'm fine. I'm not acting jumpy or skittish. I'm the same as always. Just plain Leo." I said. I think I covered that up pretty well.  
"Well, if there's something wrong just know that you can tell me anything, Leo." I started laughing at that. I shouldn't have, it was stupid, but I did.  
"What's so funny?" She said harshly.  
"That's just the thing. I can't tell you this."  
"So something is wrong! I knew it! Wait-why can't you tell me?"  
"Um, it's...uh. Personal."  
"Oh come on. Leo, you know all of my secrets. We tell each other everything. This can't be that bad."  
"Oh, but it is."  
"Is it Gaea?" She whispered this as if she was talking about Voldemort.  
"No, nothing like that."  
"Ok, is it girl problems?"  
"Leo doesn't have girl problems." I try to say all macho, yet I almost die laughing.  
"Leo I'm serious! Stop laughing. I want to help."  
"Ok, it's not me that needs help, it's one of my brothers from camp."  
"Oh. Ok. Well why didn't you just says so? What's the problem?"  
"Ok, so my brother has a best friend, two actually, and they're dating. But he's been madly in love with the girl for weeks, and he doesn't know what to do. Should he tell her or keep it a secret?"  
"Ok, well how madly in love with this girl is he?"  
"Very. Every time she walks in the room, his stomach flutters. Every time they touch, it feels like electricity is coursing through his veins. Every time they talk, he savors it, and goes over what he said in his head every night."  
"Wow. That's...very in love. He should tell her that. All of that. Exactly how you said it."  
"Yeah. He should. But what about his best friend who is dating her?"  
"Good question. Maybe Aphrodite could help out a little. I may be able to pull a few strings."  
"That would be perfection."  
"Did you just quote "Friends"?"  
"Well duh. That show is hilarious!" I exclaimed as we high-fived.  
•


	8. Chapter 8

Leo's POV

When I got to the deck, she was already there.  
"Early much?" I said, jokingly  
"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to relieve Nico and Hazel."  
"Ah. You couldn't sleep either."  
"Not at all." She still hadn't looked at me. She probably knows. Oh gods. I should have just kept to myself.  
"Uh, Pipes, something wrong?" Play it off cool. Good job.  
"Yeah actually."  
"Alright. Hit me."  
"Uh, ok. Well Lacy has a boyfriend."  
"I am aware." I say, nodding.  
"And she likes him a lot."  
"Alright."  
"But her best friend, from the same place, by the way, because they go to her school, is, as she said, handsome, funny, sweet, smart, caring, and all of these things."  
"Ok. "  
"And she thinks her best friend is in love with her, but she's not completely sure, and she also really likes her boyfriend. She's torn. It's worse than a Twilight love triangle."  
"Ain't that the truth. It's giving me a headache." All I was thinking was "Ah, the tables have turned". I wanted to say it too but I decided against it.  
"Me too." She said. It was silent for a couple minutes when she finally spoke up.  
"So where are we right now?"  
"Let's find out," I say as I walk over to the control panel."Ok, let's see. Looks like we've traveled about 47 miles since Hazel gave the report."  
"Alright." She said, tapping her fingers on the control panel.  
"You alright Pipes?"  
"Yeah. I'm just nervous."  
"About Percy and Annabeth or the Doors of Death?"  
"Both. And more. I'm mostly just worried about how everything is going to turn out." I chuckled.  
"What was that for?" She said, angrily.  
"It's just that I normally have this weir feeling that everything is wrong."  
"And?"  
"And it's gone."  
•


	9. Chapter 9

Piper's POV

"What do you mean?" I was so confused.  
"I mean, I'm finally realizing what I need to do to make things better."  
"And what is that?" He didn't speak.  
"I can't. I know what I need to do but I can't do it."  
"What? Why?"  
"Because I just can't. And I can't tell you why I can't because then you'll know."  
"You're not making any sense." I was starting to get nervous.  
"If I tell you why I can't tell you you'll know what it is."  
"Just tell me. It can't be that bad if it will make everything right."  
"Oh, it's bad. And it will make things right for me, not for everything. At least I don't think."  
"Leo please just tell me."  
"I can't. You'll hate me and I'll look like an idiot."  
"Alright. Let's make a deal. You tell me and I won't judge you or anything. We won't talk about it. I'll just change the subject."  
"I still don't-" I interrupted him.  
"Come on. Please."  
"Oh gods. Are you charm speaking me?"  
"No! No I wouldn't do that."  
"Alright. Then I guess what I am about to say isn't being said against my will."  
"Correct. This is Vegas. What happens in Vegas stays in Veg-"  
"I love you, Piper."  
I was expecting something like "I don't like Frank" or something I already knew. This...I mean, the story earlier had kind of hinted it but I never imagined...wow. This.  
"Leo, I-"  
"You said you would change the subject."  
"Uh, yeah. Right. So um..." I was stunned. I couldn't think of anything to say.  
"Coach Hedge was singing show tunes this morning." He said, smiling. He has a nice smile.  
"Really? Which ones?" I say laughing.  
"I think they were songs from the one with the Wicked Witch of the West."  
"He was singing songs from Wicked? Oh my gosh!" We were both crying, laughing so hard. "That's fantastic."  
"Yeah, it was funny." He said, his smile fading.  
•


	10. Chapter 10

Leo's POV

Oh my freakin' gods. Why did I tell her. I shouldn't have told her. We laughed and had a normal night after that but I know that she's thinking about it right now too. Why did I tell her?  
"Gah!" I said, pounding my fist on the wall. It didn't do much, due to the fact that I'm scrawny and weak. Speaking of which, she's probably horrified that some little baby bird-like engineer has told her that she loves her. And I interrupted her. Does that make me shallow? Ok, I need to stop freaking out. Be cool, Leo. Be cool. Oh my gods. What if she tells Jason. Well, she won't do that, but what if he finds out? Oh no. He'll hate me. He'll never talk to me again. What have I done?  
•


	11. Chapter 11

Piper's POV

Leo's cabin is right next to mine, and I heard a bang. So naturally, I ran in.  
"Leo!"  
"Um, hey." He said, curiously. He was wearing his Iron Man pajamas and sitting on his bed, fiddling with some pieces of something.  
"Are you ok?"  
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"  
"I heard a loud bang."  
"Oh, um, I... I tripped and fell." I could tell he was lying.  
"What's wrong with your hand?" I asked, when I saw his knuckles were red and bleeding.  
"Oh, I didn't notice that." He said as he got up to grab some bandages. We all had a first aid kit in our cabin, just in case.  
"I got it." I said, picking up the bandages and fancy spray that cleans wounds without it stinging. I should probably find out what that's called.  
"Thanks."  
"Not a problem." I say as I spray the stuff on his knuckle. "So that must have been a pretty weird fall, huh?"  
"Uh, yeah. Pretty weird and stuff."  
I wrapped the bandage tightly around his hand, and the got up to throw the packaging away.  
"Well, um, night." He said as I was walking out the door.  
"Goodnight, Leo." I shut the door and ran into my room. Then I jumped on my bed and a tear rolled down my face. But just one, because I wanted to tell him that I loved him back so bad, but I just couldn't. I just, couldn't. Jason is so good to me, and everything would be weird on the ship. They were best friends. Best friends. I can't come between them like that. There's no way.  
•


	12. Chapter 12

Leo's POV

I tripped. Wow. That had to have made me sound even more ridiculous. Good job, me. Good job. I couldn't sleep, but I knew that I needed to. Monsters and Doors of Death and demigod-ish things needed to be handled with full concentration. Sleep deprivation doesn't help with that.  
All of the sudden I heard something coming from Piper's room. It sounded like a growl. I immediately got up and grabbed my celestial bronze hammer that I made, and went to her room. The door was open. Bad sign, Piper likes her door closed at night. So I quietly tiptoed into her room and saw a gorgon walking over to Piper's bed.  
•


	13. Chapter 13

Piper's POV

I woke up and saw Leo on the other side of the room, battling some monster. A gorgon, maybe? I was terrified, that was for sure, but I got up and grabbed my dagger anyway. I was about to sneak up on the monster when Leo smashed it with his celestial bronze hammer and the monster dissolved.  
"Thanks." I said, wide-eyed. Leo never was very good with hand-to-hand combat, but he managed to kill that gorgon with a hammer.  
"Don't mention it." He replied.  
"What was that thing doing in my room?"  
"It was a gorgon," I knew it. "And I'm not sure, but whoever has this shift is going to get their butt kicked, 'cause I needed to get some sleep."  
"Well, let's go look at the schedule."  
"Sounds good."  
So we walked down the hall, turned right, and scanned the whiteboard for the shift after ours.  
"Jason and Frank." I muttered.  
"Wait really? That's weird. I wonder if they're ok." Leo said. As soon as he said it, we both ran towards the deck.  
"Jason! Frank!" Leo yelled at the top of his lungs. We finally got there and found them slumped in their chairs. I went over to Frank to find a pulse and Leo went to Jason.  
"Frank's alive. He just looks like he's in a deep sleep. Same for Jason?" I said, relieved.  
"Looks like it. Thank the gods." Leo said. Our eyes met across the deck for a minute, but we both quickly looked away.  
"We should page Hazel and Nico." I said, frantically.  
"Yeah. We should." He said, pulling out his pager. Leo made all of us one to use around the ship for emergencies just like this one. "Done. They should be here in a couple minutes."  
"Ok." I said. Meanwhile, Nico ran onto the deck.  
"That was quick." Said Leo, stunned.  
"I like to run." Nico explained. A couple minutes later, Hazel ran onto the deck.  
"Good. We're all here." I stated.  
"Um, what happened to Jason and Frank?" Hazel asked.  
"That's why we pages you. We're not sure."  
•


	14. Chapter 14

Leo's POV

"Well, do you guys have any ideas about what it is?" Asked Hazel.  
I responded."I don't. Pipes?"  
"Nothing." She replied.  
"What about you, Nico?" Hazel asked, hesitating.  
"Well, since they're asleep my first guess would be Hypnos, but as far as I know, he's on our side, so that wouldn't make sense." We all muttered in agreement. At that time, Jason started to wake up.  
"Hey man." I said, turning to him.  
"What happened?" He asked, running his eyes.  
"You tell us."  
"The last thing I remember was battling these gorgon that came on the ship. There were three. We killed two of them, but the last one did something to Frank, and he slumped over. I guess it did the same thing to me."  
"That's weird. Did it say anything?"  
"Something about restoring it's beauty."  
"Well that explains why it was in my room." Piper said. "Wow. That came out really shallow. I meant because of my mom."  
"It's fine. We knew what you meant." I responded, looking down. It was quiet for a couple minutes when I spoke up. "Anyone else planning on going back to sleep?" Everyone said no, but we heard an extra voice and realized that Frank was awake. Hazel ran over to him and gave him a big hug.  
Piper looked at Jason and mouthed the words "Was I supposed to do that too?" and he and I busted out laughing. Even Nico smirked because he saw what happened.  
•


	15. Chapter 15

Piper's POV

I was blushing so bad after that. Also I felt bad about saying that in front of Leo but he laughed so that was okay. Gods. I don't know what to do. I mean, I like Jason, a lot, but also Leo is just, I don't know. Perfect? Yeah, a little bit. But I think he's hiding something from me. Something that happened in the past. I don't know. I guess I'll have to pull him aside later. Yay.  
"You ok Piper?" Said Jason.  
"Oh, yeah. Just thinking" I responded quickly.  
"Well that's never a good sign." Said Leo, as everyone erupted into laughter.  
"Ugh!" I said as I hit him."Jerk!"  
"Come on, that was a good one."  
"I never said whether it was funny or not." I said, giggling. "It was hilarious."  
•


	16. Chapter 16

Leo's POV

After everyone started left to go to bed, it was mine and Piper's guard shift again.  
"Um, Pipes?" I finally said.  
"What's up?" She responded, nonchalantly.  
"Do you remember anything?"  
"I remember a lot of things." She said. I laughed. "Specify please?" She asked.  
"Do you remember anything before Camp?"  
"At the Grand Canyon?"  
"No, before that."  
"Um, no. I mean at the Wilderness school."  
"Nothing. Well, nothing real, anyways. Just the mist memories of Jason. Why?"  
"Just curious." I covered with that. Creative, huh?  
"What about you?" She asked curiously.  
"Um, nope. The old noggin's empty in that category." I said, looking away from her eyes. She had this weird way of knowing when people were lying.  
"Are you hiding something from me?l she said. She just blurted it.  
"Why would you think that?"  
"So you are." She said. "Spill."  
"I can't. You'd feel really conflicted and the war is coming up and all that and you won't want-"  
"Leo stop rambling and tell me."  
"Ok, you don't want to know. You'll hate me."  
"You also said I'd hate you last time. But here I am, standing here, not hating you."  
"This time you will."  
"Please just tell me."  
I was silent for what seemed like a few seconds, when it was actually probably a few minutes. She walked over and leaned on the side of the boat right next to me.  
"Leo." She put her hand on the side of my face. "Nothing you say can make me hate you. I swear it on the River Styx."  
"You shouldn't have said that." I replied.  
She removed her hand from my face. "Try me." She smiled. I felt woozy.  
"I remember. From the Wilderness school, I remember everything." I just blurted it out. I would've thought she was charmspeaking me, but I wanted to say it.  
"Oh." She said. "That's not bad at all."  
"You don't know what I remember." I retaliated. "I woke up this the other day and just remembered. It was weird."  
"Well get to the so called bad part." She said, making quotations with her fingers at the words "bad part".  
"Your mist memories, they weren't entirely fake." I said.  
"Wait-what? But, Jason remembers what happened up until the field trip."  
"I know."  
"Explain please."  
"Hera replaced the person who was actually there with Jason."  
"Ok, so those things actually happened, but not with Jason?"  
"Right."  
"Then who was it?"  
"Guess."  
•


	17. Chapter 17

Piper's POV

I thought for a moment, and then my face went slack. "Oh my gods." I said. "So you and me-?"  
"Yeah."  
"We-?"  
"Yeah." I couldn't meet his eyes.  
"Dang." I said. "Hera is one seriously messed up goddess, considering we saved her and everything."  
"Preach it." We both laughed.  
"So uh, what do we do?" I asked to break the awkward silence.  
"Well that's a very good question." He said. "And my answer is undetermined."


	18. Chapter 18

Leo's POV

You could literally feel the awkward. I couldn't think of anything to say. I was racking my brain for something but it was just blank. That's when we were saved by an attack. Well, as saved as you can be when you're getting attacked by killer rabbits. Yeah, you heard me right. We got attacked by killer rabbits. At first we were like 'oh cute bunnies'. That changed very fast.  
"What the Hades?!" I said as one of them charged me and I smashed it with my hammer as it turned to dust.  
"What are these things?" Piper yelled from across the deck, fighting off bunnies with her dagger.  
"I have no idea." I racked my brain, yet again. "Are these even Greek or Roman?" I yelled back.  
"I don't think so. What could they be?" She yelled, concerned, with one rabbit left to fight.  
I thought for a minute, then remembered something from an Egyptian mythology class I took to get out of fitness. Killer rabbits...  
"They're Egyptian!" I yelled to Piper as she killed the last bunny. She ran over to me after that.  
"Egyptian?" She said. "That's real too?"  
"Yes," said a boy's voice behind us. "Egyptian mythology is real too."  
•


	19. Chapter 19

Piper's POV

Leo and I turned around to see who was behind the voice, and saw two teenage girls, one probably Hazel's age and the other a little bit younger than me. There were also two teenage boys, probably our age or younger. They were all about the same height except the girl with the dark hair. She was shorter than everyone else, but only by a little bit. "Wow. Way to be creepy Carter," said the other girl, with a hint of a British accent. She had dark-caramel colored hair that went down to right under her shoulders, and had these stunning blue eyes. She wore a leather jacket, a t-shirt that said "sarcastic? Me? Pshh no", and faded skinny jeans, with a bag over her shoulder.  
"Shut up Sadie," said one of the boys, Carter, I assumed. He had dark skin, dark hair, and brown eyes. I'd think they were siblings if they didn't look so different. He was wearing a t-shirt and jacket with jeans and had a bag over his shoulder as well and a weird bent sword in his hand.  
"No need to be rude, brother dear," said Sadie as she punched him in the arm. So they were siblings? Wow.  
I spoke up and interrupted their banter. "So uh, we still have no idea who you are and whether we should fight you or not so-"  
"There's no for us to fight one another. They just fight each other," said the shorter girl. She looked very Egyptian, with dark black, straight hair hanging down at her collarbone. She had amber eyes and olive colored skin.  
"All the time. They fight all the time," said the other boy, rubbing his temples. He also had dark skin and brown eyes, but a shaved head. He was built like a wrestler, but he came off as a big teddy bear, a lot like Frank.  
"He's not lying," said Sadie. "Carter is always picking a fight."  
"Excuse me! I'm always picking a fight?!" Replied Carter.  
"And here we go again," said the Egyptian girl, putting her hand on her forehead.  
I decided this was the time to use my charmspeak. "Guys!" I said, putting all the power I could into my voice. "Shut up!" They both shut their mouthes immediately.  
"How did you do that?" said the other boy in disbelief.  
"It's called charmspeak. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, so it kind of comes with that whole package." I replied. "Come, sit down."  
•


	20. Chapter 20

Leo's POV

Piper and I led them to the dining room and called the others in. In no time, we were all sitting around the table, eating.  
"So, uh, should we all play one of those weird get-to-know-you games that they play on the first day of school or what?" I said.  
"Sure," muttered Frank. "They go first."  
"Hey, how come we go first?" said Sadie.  
"Because it's our ship."  
"Touchè. Carter, you start. Say your name, age, and hobby."  
"Whatever. I'm Carter Kane, 15, and I like to not be killed by crazed Egyptian gods." said Carter as we all nodded in agreement.  
"Alright, I'm Sadie Kane, 13, and I like to have fun. Simple as that." explained Sadie. The other Egyptian boy went next.  
"Uh, ok. I'm Walt Stone,14 and a half, and I like to play basketball," Sadie hit him. "And spend time with my girlfriend."  
"Better," said Sadie, smirking.  
"Okay, anyway, I'm Zia Rashid," said the very Egyptian-looking girl. "I'm 15 as well and I like to go to malls." Sadie snickered. "What? I just recently discovered them and they are marvelous! We should build one in the First Nome!"  
"I'll talk to Uncle Amos," said Sadie, holding back laughter.  
"Ok, I'll start our side," Hazel volunteered. "I'm Hazel Levesque, 13, technically, and I like to spend time with my brother and my boyfriend." she admitted, smiling. "Go Frank."  
"Sure. I'm Frank Zhang, 15, and I like archery and spending time with Hazel, I guess."  
"You guess?" said Piper.  
"Um-" I stopped Frank there.  
"Alright I'm next! I'm Leo Valdez, 16, and I enjoy being supreme-totally-in-control commander of this very ship, the Argo ll." Piper snorted and Jason snickered at my "hobby". "Alright, Beauty Queen. Your turn."  
"Ok, I'm Piper McLean, 16, and I like, um, singing, I guess. It's fun." she said.  
"Wait a minute, McLean, like the actor Tristan McLean?" exclaimed Walt.  
Piper sighed. "Yes."  
"Holy crap! I thought he didn't have kids!"  
"I'm a secret."  
"Ok, Jason you go." I said, sparing Piper.  
"I'm Jason Grace, 16, and I like to, uh, well I'm not really sure. I don't have that much spare time."  
"Come on Sparky, anything?"  
"Nothin'." he said.  
"Ok, Nico go."  
"I'm Nico Di Angelo, 14, and I like not talking to people." he said.  
"You're jolly." muttered Sadie.  
"Can I leave yet?"  
"Go for it," I said. He immediately got up and left.  
•


	21. Chapter 21

Piper's POV  
"Did we do something to offend him?" asked Walt, curiously.  
"No, he's a son of Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld. He's just very anti-social." I replied.  
"Oh, ok, good. I mean, not good that he's anti-social but good that we didn't offend him in any way."  
"So uh, um."  
"If we're going to be here a while I'm going to need to know which ones of you are dating because I'm dying to know. No sarcasm intended." explained Sadie.  
"Same to you guys." retaliated Leo. I concluded that Leo and Sadie in the same place at the same time could be a recipe for an atom bomb.  
"Fine then. I'm dating Walt here and Carter and Zia are dating. Now spill." She demanded, as I saw Jason slip Leo a $10 bill.  
"Ok, Frank and Hazel are dating and I'm uh, dating Jason." I explained.  
"Really? I figured you and, oh crap, uh, Leo! Leo. I figured you and Leo were dating. Oh well." Sadie said, handing Walt $5. What's up with the betting?  
"Uh no, we're not dating."  
"Well I know that now."  
"Sadie!" Zia exclaimed, smacking her upside the head. "That was rude."  
Sadie groaned.  
"It's fine, really." I said as Zia mumbled something under her breath. It was silent for a couple minutes, then Jason spoke up.  
"So, how did you guys find our ship?"  
"We were chasing those evil bunny rabbit things." Sadie admitted.  
"Why?"  
"Because they were terrorizing Brooklyn House."  
"What's Brooklyn House?"  
"It's where we live. We train Egyptian magicians and give them a safe place to stay."  
"Kind of like Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter."  
"Wait a minute, so you guys are Greek, right?" asked Carter, worriedly.  
"Yeah, demigods."  
Carter looked like he'd seen a ghost.  
"Do you guys know someone named Percy?" It was silent for a moment when Leo decided to tell them what happened.  
"Percy, and his girlfriend Annabeth, fell into Tartarus, which is basically Hell." Sadie's mouth dropped, and Zia gasped. Walt looked down, and Carter looked like he was about to faint. "How do you know him?"  
Carter hesitated, but then he answered. "We had a small encounter while fighting a giant alligator."  
"Why didn't you tell me?" exclaimed Sadie.  
"We both agreed not to tell anyone until we knew more."  
•


	22. Chapter 22

Leo's POV

It was silent for a couple minutes, mostly because all of our jaws were on the ground, when Frank yelled out to Nico. "Hey, Nico. You might want to come back in here."  
It was still dead silent when Nico walked into the room. We filled him in on everything that we just found out, and he just sighed and sat down.  
"Well, wow. I can't believe you know him. Looks like the fates are up to it again." I say.  
"Or Hera," Jason points out.  
"Who's Hera?" asked Sadie, but before I could get a word in, Zia answered.  
"Hera is the Greek goddess of marriage and queen of the Greek gods."  
"How do you know that?" Inquired Carter.  
"We've had our suspicions that the Egyptian gods weren't the only ones around, so all of the higher ranked initiates had to take a crash course on Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, since those seemed to be the most popular ones."  
"And Carter and I, the two most powerful Egyptian magician kids in the world, one of us whom is Pharaoh, weren't told because?" Demanded Sadie.  
"Because we didn't want to make a big deal out of it." Responded Zia.  
"Wait a minute, isn't Pharaoh like the King or whatever?" asks Frank.  
"Yeah," says Carter.  
"And you're..."  
"Yeah."  
"Well okay then," stutters Frank in disbelief.  
"So anyways, we need to find out what to do about this, because our meeting is obviously not a coincidence," explains Sadie.  
"We should all sleep first, actually. We have some spare rooms. Piper, you take Sadie and Zia to two of them, and I'll guide Carter and Walt," I say, and everyone nodded their heads in agreement.  
•


	23. Chapter 23

Piper's POV

I took Zia to her room, and then Sadie and I had to walk to the other side of the ship, because the spare room next to Zia was the slightest bit...disheveled. As we were walking to her room, side by side, she started talking.  
"So, uh, sorry about that comment about you and that Leo kid."  
"It's fine, really," I replied.  
"No, it's not. I can tell that there's something weird between you guys."  
"Well I can't say you're wrong."  
"Do you need to talk about it? I don't really know either of you that well so it would probably be easier if you need to get it off your chest." She offered.  
"Yeah, actually. That'd be great. But, uh, do you mind if we go to my room first? I don't want to talk about it in the open like this."  
"Yeah, that's fine." So we walked to my room and shut the door, then sat on my bed.  
"Ok," I start. "So Leo is my best friend. He's really the only best friend I've ever had. So the other day, long story short, he told me he loved me, and in a way that isn't 'oh I just love you you're my best friend'. In the way of actual real affection." She nodded her head. "And then before the bunnies attacked, we were talking and he said he had a dream the other night where Hera, who give me fake relationship memories of Jason, told Leo that my memories of Jason were actually of him."  
"Plot twist," she muttered and I stifled a laugh.  
"Yeah, little bit."  
"Well here's the million dollar question. Do you love back, in that way?" She asked.  
"That's just the thing," I responded. "I-" I was about to respond when Hazel burst into the room.  
"Gorgon attack," she said flatly.  
"Alright," I say, getting up. I was quite relieved they were gorgons, because gorgons are easy to beat.  
"Should I come?" Asked Sadie.  
"No, you'll be fine. I'll probably be back in around five minutes," I explained.  
"Ok. Um, be safe?" She said in surely.  
"Will do," I responded, nonchalantly. I like Sadie. She's cool.  
•


	24. Chapter 24

Leo's POV

The gorgon attack was nothing compared to what happened afterwards. We all went back to our rooms once we finished them off and I was about to go to bed when I heard muffled voices coming from Piper's room.  
"So do you think you love him?" I heard a voice ask. Sadie, I think.  
"Yeah, I do. I think about him constantly. But I don't know what to do about Jason. I love him too, but something makes me feel compelled to choose Leo," replied a voice that belonged to none other than Piper. She loved me back. She really loved me back.  
"I think you should break it off with Jason. You can't spend your days dating someone and loving someone else."  
"I know, but Jason is so sweet. I could never do that to him."  
I decided to stop listening there. Most of me wanted Piper to break it off with Jason and come to me, but the better part of me wanted her to break it off with him and wait it out. I know that that is the right thing to do, and I think she knows it too.

As soon as I fell asleep, the dream came. I was standing in the middle of a large room with mint green walls, and two doors. One to my left, an one in front of me. I turned around and saw a large bed, like you would see a in a modern princesses room, and I only had one thought.  
"Hello, Leo," said a voice behind me. I turn around and see her- Aphrodite.  
"Um hey Piper's mom," I reply, shaking. If I'm seeing her, that could only mean one thing. "Uh, what's up?"  
"I've recently discovered that you're in love with my daughter," she said. Ah, there it is. I tried to respond, but I couldn't find my voice. "This, I didn't see coming. I figured she'd be fine off with Jason, but I guess I was wrong. Which rarely happens, by the way." I nodded.  
"Now I suppose you're wondering why you've found yourself in my bedroom." I nodded again. "Well, as you probably know, us gods aren't supposed to be in contact with demigods, but this was important. That's why I have to be quick." I was finally able to mutter a small "ok", but that was it.  
"You need to be with Piper. She can't be with Jason, she'll just get hurt. I know it's a risk, but it will work out in your favor, trust me."  
"Uh, Lady Aphrodite, thanks for telling me this, but why is it so important?" I ask.  
"At the end of the day, love is everything. Love started this war, an love will end it. Only the wisest people know that, Leo Valdez, and you should spread the word." And with that, she disappeared, and I woke up drenched in sweat. That was probably the most nerve wracking dream I've ever had.

At breakfast, we talked over some things and decided that Sadie, Carter, Walt, and Zia would be staying with us for a while. As Jason and Hazel showed them how to Iris message their friends to tell them what was happening, Piper pulled me aside.  
"I need to talk to you about something really important, but it needs to wait until we're in complete privacy, with no chance of anyone eavesdropping, ok?"  
"Yeah, sure," I responded, trying not to blush as she gave me a small smile and walked away. This was it. I just had to wait until we were in privacy then I'd finally know what would happen with the girl of my dreams.  
•


	25. Chapter 25

Piper's POV

It's finally time. I finally get to tell him. It's our shift, and I see him as soon as I walk up the stairs to the deck. I take a deep breath, and walk over to him.  
"Hey Pipes," he says, grinning.  
"Hey," I respond, grinning back.  
"So you needed to tell me something?" He asked.  
"Yeah, I do." I said, looking into his deep brown eyes.  
"Well spill Beauty Queen," he nagged. "It's been driving me insane."  
"I-I," I couldn't seem to get the words out of mouth.  
"Cat got your tongue?" He joked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Shut up," I said, lightly punching him in the arm. "I'm serious!"  
"Alright, alright," he said, laughing. "What is it?"  
"Leo, I think you know what I'm going to say." I admitted. I could see that he knew. I grabbed his hand. "What do I do?"  
"About Jason?"  
"Yeah. I mean, I can't just end it at a time like this."  
"I know, Pipes, but you can't go on dating him."  
"I know, you're right, but he's been very secretive lately, and if he's going through something right now I don't want to make him worse."  
"Piper, you have to. I know you don't want to, and I'd do it for you if I could-"  
"But I have to do this. I'm the one in a relationship with him. I'm the one who has to tell him." I said. Leo pulled me into an embrace, and we stayed there for a minute, then I pulled away.  
"Wish me luck," I requested.  
"Wish granted," he said with a grim face. I walked off the deck, down the stairs, and on my way to Jason's room.

I'm in front of Jason's door, and I take a deep breath. I'm about to open the door when I hear Jason's voice inside.  
"I know, I know."  
"You have to tell her. I'm not going to be that person. There's no way, no way at all. I like Piper, a lot. She's great, and she shouldn't get hurt like this. I mean, you're probably her first boyfriend!" Said a girl's voice. I recognized it as Reyna's.  
"Ok, I'll tell her."  
"Right now!" She demanded.  
"Ok," he said. "Right now."  
I heard him walk towards the door, and I bolted for the deck.  
"Leo," I exclaimed, panting. "Leo."  
"What?" He said, looking panicked. "What's wrong?"  
"It's Jas-"  
"Piper?" I heard Jason's voice call.  
"Pipes, what's wrong?" Asked Leo. I stayed silent.  
"Piper?" Repeated Jason, walking up onto the deck. "Oh, there you are."  
"Hey," I said, almost whispering.  
"Can I talk to you?" He asked. Then he turned to Leo. "Uh, in private."  
"Uh, yeah. I'll be below deck," said Leo, glancing at me.  
"Thanks man," Jason said, hitting Leo in the arm. Leo nodded.  
"So what do you need to talk to me about?" I asked meekly.  
"I've been, uh, hiding something from you." Jason admitted.  
"You're cheating on me," I blurted. I don't know where that came from, it just came out.  
"How did you kn-"  
"I overheard your conversation just now."  
"Oh."  
"Yeah."  
"Piper, I'm so sorry."  
"It's ok," I said. "I was coming to your room to tell you something as well."  
"Ok. What is it?" He asked.  
"We never did anything, just talked about things, but I was coming to break things off with you because-" the words were stuck in my throat. "Because I love Leo." His jaw dropped to the ground as soon as I said it.  
"Woah."  
"So, uh, this kind've worked out huh?" I said, awkwardly.  
"Um, yeah, I guess so," he admitted, chuckling.  
"So no hard feelings? Can we still be friends?" I asked.  
"Yeah, of course." Then we hugged, and it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I could be with Leo, Jason could be with Reyna, and we could both be happy. Everything was working out in our favor.  
•


	26. Chapter 26

Leo's POV

Everything was great. Jason didn't care about me and Piper, he had someone, Hazel and Frank were good, and Nico was Nico. So I guess all of our relationship problems were great. Let's not talk about the other stuff. I was sitting on my bed when I heard the door open. I look up, and it was none other than my beauty queen.  
"Hey Pipes," I say.  
"What's up Repair Boy?" She asks, smiling.  
"Just the usual, you know, trying to make something that will most likely not be useful to this quest in any way shape or form."  
"Sounds fun."  
"Oh, it is. Watch closely while I tie this knot." I say, sarcastically.  
"Wow, that's super interesting." She replies, acting amazed. "Wanna go grab some breakfast?"  
"Yeah sure," I say, standing up. I've grown taller than her since the quest started. So I wrapped my arm around her and we started towards the dining room, as we hear a young girl's scream.  
"Hazel!" Exclaimed Piper, running to the dining hall with me close behind. We enter the dining hall and are greeted by smiles, tears, hugs, and two teenagers. A boy and a girl. A black-haired boy and a blonde-haired girl. Percy and Annabeth were back. They survived Tartarus. Piper shrieked at the top of her lungs, ran towards Annabeth, and almost knocked her over in a bear hug. I walked up to Percy and gave him a hug, same to Annabeth when Piper was finally pried off of her. After all the excitement had died down and we had explained why Carter, Sadie, Walt, and Zia were here, we all sat down at the table.  
"So, other than Carter and crew's arrival," Sadie huffed, "what did we miss?" Asked Percy.  
"Well, nothing really," I responded.  
"Well obviously something," he said, smirking and nodding at my arm wrapped around Piper.  
"Oh, yeah, that."  
Piper snickered. "Leo and I are dating now and Jason is dating Reyna."  
It was quiet for a couple minutes when Percy spoke up. "Annabeth you owe me ten bucks."  
"Oh. I forgot about that." She responded.  
"What the heck did you bid on?" Asked Piper.  
"Percy bet that you and Leo would get together. I swear, if he couldn't control water I would think he's a son of Aphrodite," remarked Annabeth as the room erupted into laughter.  
"Gosh, I'm starving." Said Percy, obviously trying to change the subject.  
"Me too, bro." Piper mocked.  
"Very funny," he replied, staring daggers at her in a joking way. Banter went on between them, and nobody dared mention Tartarus or the quest the entire time. We just sat around and had fun the entire meal, like regular teenagers. That's kind of weird to think about, being a normal teenager. I was never even a normal kid.  
•


End file.
